1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas discharge display device for a flat screen, and is more particularly concerned with such a structure in which a gas discharge space is limited by one or more cathodes and by the row conductor side of a control disc having a matrix-driven hole grid, and in which an acceleration space is located between the other, column conductor side, of the control disc and a luminescent screen with an anode layer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A gas-discharge display device of the type generally set forth above is known and described, for example, in the German published application No. 24 12 869. The control disc with its hole structure coinciding with the luminescent dot grid of the fluorescent screen separates the gas discharge space from the acceleration space. The matrix drive of the control holes is carried out by means of row conductors on the back side of the control disc facing the acceleration space and by means of column conductors on the front side of the disc. The holes in the control disc are located at the intersections of the row conductors and column conductors.
By driving a row conductor and a column conductor, electrons are drawn from the plasma generated in the gas-discharge space through the control hole disc at the row/column intersection and are accelerated by the high voltage anode layer in the direction of the matrix of luminous dots, in particular toward the luminous dot at the selected location on a fluorescent screen. In order to achieve a sufficient excitation of the luminous substance, the acceleration must be as high as possible, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the acceleration portion is very short (approximately 0.5-2 mm), so that, according to the Paschen Law, a further gas discharge in this acceleration space is avoided; because of the limited insulation, the field strength also cannot be established as high as is desired.
If, on occasion, however, a gas discharge should occur in the acceleration space, then the current must flow off by way of the very fine column conductors and the control elements, usually semiconductors, connected thereto. These currents and overvoltages which thereby occur are dangerous to the control/switching elements.